“Sixty-seven passengers were in the carriage when the fire broke out about 2 kilometers (1 mile) from the small town of Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh state” where at least 26 passengers were killed, “many of whom became trapped and suffocated after the doors failed to open.”

The coach cart that was on fire was delinked from the rest of the train in order to stop the train from spreading the fire, but according to railways spokesman C.S. Gupta, the fire did not spread fast enough to do much damage outside of being spread to a second coach.

Firefighters appeared on the scene and put the last of the fire out while rescuing whoever they could, including two children, while more than a dozen people were brought to hospitals. Many victims sustained injuries from jumping off of the train in the midst of the fire.

Railways Minister Mallikarjun Kharge spoke to the media and claimed preliminary reports from the site indicated that the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit. An investigation is still underway.